B.J. Upton

[BillyHoe]

Any Devil Ray fans out there? Will this kid be as good as they say he will?

[tlef316]

if they ever stop bringing in crappy vets to block him, probably. Its sad, but they'll prob send him down to AAA to start the year

[qwerty]

if they ever stop bringing in crappy vets to block him, probably. Its sad, but they'll prob send him down to AAA to start the year

Why do the devil rays think cantu, alomar, and gonzalez are all superior to upton?

[tlef316]

if they ever stop bringing in crappy vets to block him, probably. Its sad, but they'll prob send him down to AAA to start the year

Why do the devil rays think cantu, alomar, and gonzalez are all superior to upton?

your guess is as good as anyone's. apparently they think the 5 extra wins signing vets will get them is worth stunting the growth of their young studs.

[slomo007]

I'm actually wondering if it's a ploy by TB to tell Upton and the other youngsters that they have to earn their playing time based on how well they do in ST. Maybe they are just trying to make them work harder and not just hand them the positions. I would be surprised if Upton is not in the starting lineup on opening day.

[sockeye]

From what I gather, the Lou Piniella Old School Philosophy probably does not involve playing young guys before they are ACTUALLY better than the vets, especially if they can't handle a routine grounder.

Call me crazy, but fostering a sense of entitlement could probably risk stunting a player's growth far more than having him learn the job by splitting time with Lugo.

But I realize I might be in the minority...

[tlef316]

im not saying that they should hand him the job and forget about it. However, i think they are stunting his growth by moving him to various positions and bringing in mediocre veterans that play his position.

Its just like rookie QB's in the nfl. Sure, they're gonna struggle early. However, its better Upton struggles when he's 22, not 24 or 25. Its not like tampa is gonna be competiing for a pennant.

[sockeye]

Agreed, tlef. Healthy competition I can see as being, well, healthy, but head games or mixed messages probably aren't.

Didn't mean to sound quite so hardass in that last post!

[Havok1517]

Well Upton is sort of a liability defensively. But I agree he should be on the team sooner rather than later. Tf that is opening day or not I don't know. I would have probably moved him to 2nd for awhile and let Lugo playSS, but then they go out and sign Alomar...??? Now I have no idea what they are planning... 8-o

[hybrid]

Unless something unforeseen happens, ie. injury ... Upton and cantu will not be starting. I know it sounds lame and unreasonable for the Rays organization, but Lou doesn't like handing over jobs to youngsters period (his def that isn't up to par doesn't help). Also Lou thinks the vets will help his club more then they will, no idea why ... but he thinks so.

So look for Alomar at 2B, Lugo at SS, and Gonzalez at 3B. That is until Alomar gets hurt/sucks, Gonzalez sucks, and Lugo eventually gets traded (hoping Lou doesn't try to keep him longer).

Almost forget, yeah this kid is good ... I see no reason for him not to be as good as they say. His power/speed is legit and no it isn't me being a homer